Unpacking DC's New REBIRTH JSA and Classic JUSTICE LEAGUE Line-Ups... Is That WALLY WEST?

By Vaneta Rogers, Newsarama Contributor April 12, 2016 11:27am ET

JSA

Credit: DC Comics

Credit: DC Comics

DC has shown the post-Crisis version of the Justice Society of America and an old iteration of the Justice League in the retailer catalog for Rebirth - maybe even including the old, redhead Wally West along with other characters that have been missed by long-time DC fans since they were eliminated with the "New 52" reboot.

The tease comes on the back cover of the new Previews catalog that details the new Rebirth titles being launched by DC in conjunction with the Rebirth mini-series by Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns.

The back cover image shows two hourglasses — one featuring characters from a pre-New 52 version of the Justice Society of America and the other including characters from an '80s-style Justice League of America.

The Justice Society image includes what appear to be the original versions of Dr. Fate, The Flash, Atom, Dr. Mid-Nite, Green Lantern, Hourman, and Black Canary.

Which version of The Flash? That's a good question. The costumes of the heroes in the hourglass appear to be from the 1980s, complete with a red-trunked Superman, an old-styled Cyborg and a blue-costume/oval-symbol clad Batman. Could that Flash be Wally West? Could DC be returning the original Wally West to continuity somehow?

This isn't the first time readers have been told that old characters would be returning after Rebirth, but it is certainly the first induction of specific pre-New 52 characters and teams that DC intends to revive — and it's the first time the company has hinted that the returned characters might appear in their original forms and costumes.

It's also worth noting that DC already had a pre-New 52 version of Superman flying around the New 52 universe, so this isn't without precedence. The older, married version of Superman traveled to the New 52 universe along with his wife Lois Lane and his son Jonathan at the end of Convergence, the 2015 mini-series that opened the door to an infinite number of universes.

There is no indication in the image about when these characters might return, or whether these images mean the exact versions will be returning. The only copy on the image is: "It all starts here! Unlock the first clues to the secrets of every title in Rebirth!" Coupled with Johns' promise that more characters will be introduced in coming months, readers should be able to anticipate an eventual return of these characters in some form.